baroque art in italy and spain - art history with ivy dally · 2019-12-02 · italian baroque...

Baroque Art in Italy and Spain

Lecture by Ivy C. Dally

South Suburban College

South Holland, IL

Introduction to the Baroque World

• Baroque: irregular pearl

• Described as: ▫ Grand ▫ Turbulent/Full of

movement and energy ▫ Emotional ▫ Modern

• Worldview influenced by:

▫ Absolute power of the popes and monarchs

▫ Science ▫ Interest in “exotic” non-

western subjects.

Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Matthew, ca. 1599-1600. Oil on canvas.

The Completion of St. Peter’s in Rome: Absolute Power of the Papacy

• Return to the Basilica plan in keeping with the reforms of the counter-reformation.

• A nave and narthex were added to the west end of St. Peter’s.

• Façade builds on Michelangelo’s design for colossal engaged columns supporting a large attic. Carlo Maderno, Nave and Façade of St.

Peter’s, 1607-1612.

Bernini, Piazza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. “The motherly, all-embracing arms of the Church”.

Bernini, Baldacchino at the nave crossing of St. Peter’s, bronze, 1624-1633.

Italian Baroque Painting and Sculpture: Theatrical Drama

• Italian paintings of the Baroque are known for ▫ Tenebrism lighting

effects: “spotlight”

▫ Dramatic subjects

▫ Modern examinations of sexuality, gender, and class

Gentileschi, Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, ca. 1625

"Approaching to his bed, she took hold of the hair of his head, and said, Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day! And she smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and she took away his head from him." (Judith, 13:7-8).

Il Baciccio, The Triumph of the Name of Jesus, 1672-1679. Church of Il Gesu, Rome.

Above: Mantegna’s Oculus in the Ceiling of the Camera Picta.

Pietro da Cortona, Glorification of the Reign of Urban VIII, 1633-1639

Bernini, David, 1623.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bernini-ecstasy-of-st.-theresa.html

Bernini, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa

Spanish Baroque: Tenebrism and Brushwork

• Native Spanish artists were

unappreciated until the rise of Diego Velazquez.

• Velazquez is best known for his portraits, that combine Venetian color with Caravaggio’s tenebrism.

• Was leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. As a member of the nobility himself, Velazquez was made a knight.

• Queen Sophia of Spain is a direct descendant of the painter.

Self-Portrait of Velazquez

Velazquez, Portrait of Juan Pareja, 1650(left) and Pope Innocent X , 1650, (right).

One observer

wrote that Velázquez had come to Italy "not to learn but to teach, for his Innocent X was the amazement of Rome. Every artist copied it and looked upon it as a

miracle." -- From the Met Museum

Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Velazquez-Las-Meninas.html

After this lecture you should be able to…

• Identify the formal and iconographic characteristics of 17th century Italian Baroque art.

• Discuss how the counter-reformation led to the creation of the Baroque style.

• Examine how absolutist rhetoric is embodied in examples of 17th century art and architecture.

• Explain how ancient art continues to influence the artists of the Baroque era.